Random House, 2011. ISBN: 978 1741662528.
Recommended for ages 9+. The Isherwood family is experiencing tough
times with Dad having been injured at work and Neenie, their Gran,
suffering from dementia. Siblings Jem, Tyler and Maddy are affected by
the daily conflicts arising within the family when Great-aunt Ella
arrives and suggests they accompany her on a sea-faring trip. An
invitation is also extended to their friend, Zac, and the not entirely
enthusiastic bunch begins their preparations. Only when Ella explains a
little of the mystery she hopes to solve, do the children become more
excited and involved. As they journey across the seas and more clues
are uncovered, they meet various characters along the way and need to
consider whose motives can be trusted.
The Northern Territory setting adds its own special dimension to the
story as do the different backgrounds of the characters and their
varying voices. Showing some similarities to the books of Michael
Morpurgo, this could be paired with adventure stories from other
countries and used to compare both style and content. With its
distinctly Australian writing, and the themes of overcoming one's
fears, insecurities and self absorption to assist the family, this
engaging adventure/mystery would make an entertaining class read aloud
for middle primary children.
Jo Schenkel
Fierce fighters series by Charlotte Guillain
Raintree, 2010.
(Age 7-10) This is a well researched and interesting series that
provides excellent easy to read information about fierce fighters. Each
book is beautifully illustrated with both line drawings and quality
photographs of sculptures, artefacts and costumes that belong to the
period. Large text on the left of each double spread eases the way for
newly independent readers, while a Did You Know section on the
right
hand side, contains a fascinating bit of history that will keep the
reluctant reader interested. An easy to use Table of Contents and index
make the information accessible for children who are doing research and
the glossary is a helpful aid to understanding new words. A
bibliography contains both books and websites to encourage further
reading and investigation from the young reader. There are also
instructions for a creative activity at the back of the book.
Children will be fascinated by the subject matter, which will appeal to
both boys and girls.
Books include: Read Me! Greek warriors by Charlotte Guillain. Raintree, 2010.
ISBN 9781406216158.
This contains information about the ancient Greeks, how they became
warriors and fought in wars. It also looks at famous Greek warriors and
Greek women. Read Me! Gladiators and Roman soldiers by Charlotte Guillain.
Raintree, 2010. ISBN: 9781406216110.
Topics include Who were the Romans?, Roman soldiers, gladiators and
weapons. There is a section on Roman women and the end of the Romans. Read Me! Samurai by Charlotte Guillain. Raintree, 2010. ISBN
9781406216141
Information is given about the Samurai, their rules and weapons
as well as famous Samurai warriors and Samurai women.
Pat Pledger
Samuel's kisses by Karen Collum
Ill. by Serena Geddes. New Frontier, 2010. ISBN 9781921042157.
(Age 3-5) Recommended. When Samuel goes shopping with his mother he
sees lots of people who are looking miserable. He loves shopping and
wants other people to be as happy as he is, so he sends them a kiss,
which brightens up their day and affects those around him. Soon the
people in the Post Office, the supermarket, the bank, and indeed, the
whole shopping centre all have smiles on their faces as Samuel's kisses
trail under and over furniture, fruit and people.
Karen Collum has written a heart-warming story about how a simple kiss
can change the feelings of tired and sad people. The power of love and
a smile can make people feel better about themselves and what they are
doing. This is a beautiful message to bring to young children and their
carers, and children might want to test out the impact of a smile in
their own lives. The author also portrays a warm bond of family love
between the Samuel and his mother, with his mother blowing him a gentle
kiss in the final pages.
The rhythm in the story makes it a very satisfying book to read
aloud. Serena Geddes' bright watercolour illustrations complement
the story. Children are sure to enjoy the emotions on the faces of the
people and the trail of kisses that leads from one page to the next is
delightful.
Pat Pledger
Vampyre Labyrinth : RedEye by G.P. Taylor
Faber and Faber, 2010. ISBN 9780571226948.
(Age: 12+) Jago Harker lives in London during the Second World War. The
blitz has forced many children from London to evacuate to smaller
country towns, and Jago is to be evacuated to a town called Whitby, but
he believes he is too old to be evacuated and does not want to leave
his mother alone. Jago eventually relents and leaves for Whitby, but
before he even made it to the train there was a bombing raid and his
mother was killed. Jago only survived because a mysterious man saved
his life, but Whitby is not safer at all. Jago lives in a manor with
many other kids and when he defends one of the people who is bullied he
makes an enemy of the bullies. At night Jago has very realistic dreams.
This book is very good. It was not over the top. It was gripping and
very well written, although I found it a bit difficult to get into at
first. I highly recommend this book to everyone who likes supernatural
books.
Gareth Peer (Student)
Captain Mack and the Monstrous Moonmites by John Lomas-Bullivant
Walker Books, 2010. ISBN 978 1406323665
Captain Mack will appeal to any child who loves the idea of space
exploration and astronauts. It is a comic style book, using speech
bubbles to tell the story which is great for reluctant readers as the
bright comics help tell the story. The stories have simple plots and
are aimed at young children but they will still need to be confident
readers to read independently.
The book has two short stories and follows the adventures of Captain
Mack as he helps to solve problems on the moon - a space shuttle with a
leaking fuel tank - and back on his home planet - a missing weather
machine. There are other books in the series as well as a UK
based children's show so children may already have heard of Captain
Mack and his adventures. Highly recommended for fans of the show as
well as independent readers who may not enjoy reading large texts.
Kylie Kempster
Donut Days by Lara Zeilen
Speak, 2010. ISBN 9780142417218.
(Age 12+) Emma's life is a mess. Her best friend isn't talking to her
and the boy she's known forever and dismissed has suddenly become a
hottie. Her parents are both preachers and are refusing to pay for
college unless she goes to a Christian school, something she absolutely
does not want to do. Her only chance is the Crispy Dream, a new donut
franchise in town. People are camping out to be the first ever served
and the local paper is awarding a scholarship to the person who writes
the best story about the donut camp. But can Emma rely just on donuts
for her salvation?
In this story there are great characters. Emma is a struggling teen
trying to deal with overly Christian parents. Emma's mum is struggling
to keep her preaching position in the church after someone has a
'prophecy' and demands women should not be able to preach. Emma also
meets a Harley bikie gang at the camp who are avid Christians and are
quite harmless, especially the leader, a massive man named Bear who
likes knitting.
The characters were realistic and easy to relate to. I found
myself laughing at the sarcasm that Emma uses to tell her story. It
wasn't a very serious book or plot, just something to read casually. I
enjoyed how easy it was to read and how much fun it was to read,
because the story is great. It kept me reading because the language was
very good as well.
The way all the characters deal with their own problems is realistic
and clever. It demonstrated some good values in life, like helping
those around you, staying true to your beliefs and sticking by your
friends when they're in need. Donut Days was exceptional in its genre, because it is a funny,
original, heartfelt, and lovely book to read.
Rebecca Adams (Student)
Cyroburn by Lois McMaster Bujold
Baen Books, 2010. ISBN 9781439133941.
(Age 15+) Recommended. The latest in the award winning Vorkosigan
series has Imperial Auditor Miles Vorkosigan travelling to Kibou-daini,
a planet obsessed with cheating death. There he attends a conference on
cryo-freezing people while investigating a cryocorp that is trying to
establish itself in the Barrayaran Empire. On Kibou-daini, Miles faces
an attempted kidnapping, drags himself through tunnels full of frozen
bodies and is rescued by a young boy whose mother has been frozen
because of the secrets about the big corporation that she has
uncovered. As usual, Miles embraces the danger whole-heartedly and
strives to weave his way through the conspiracy that unfolds.
Fans of the Vorkosigan series and Lois McMaster Bujold will welcome the
return of Miles. Bujold has created a world in outer space that feels
very credible and Miles flings himself straight into adventures and
situations that are always fascinating. The concept of people hoping to
foil the finality of death by freezing is explored as well as the
prospect of delaying old age.
In depth characterisation is a hallmark of Bujold's writing, and this
book sees Miles several years on with children of his own. He is still
the old impetuous Miles, whose brilliance helps him overcome all sorts
of odds and come up with plans that bewilder those around him. The
young boy Jin, with his love of animals and his sister Mina, are
attractive protagonists; their youth and vulnerability adds to the
attraction of this series for teen readers.
Bujold has the knack of writing witty repartee and funny scenes and I
was dragged along with Miles as he goes from one chaotic adventure to
the next. An unexpected ending could mean a whole new series of
different adventures for Miles and I for one would welcome them.
A bonus to the book is the free CD that comes with it. Not only does it
have interviews and speeches with the author, but you can download
the whole series of books to your e-reader device or computer.
Pat Pledger
Anastasia's secret by Susanne Dunlap
Penguin, 2010. ISBN 9780143203704.
(Age: 14+)Being a Grand Duchess of Russia has left Anastasia
with strict rules about how to behave and even those she is allowed to
talk to. Since she was twelve, Anastasia has had a secret, her friend
Sasha. Sasha shows Anastasia a life outside of the imperial palace she
has grown to known.
Life is good for Anastasia and her family until one day Sasha brings
bad news. Their life is about to be turned upside down.
Based on the mysteries that have surrounded the last days of the
Romanov family, Susanne has done a wonderful job creating this novel
with the use of fiction and factual events. I really like the fact
Susanne has done research into the mystery of the Russia's last
princesses and prince and have put it into her novel as I have learnt
more about the story of Anastasia. I would highly recommend this
book.
Lauren Pfeiffer(Aged 16)
The Sorcerer's Apprentice by Tom Skinner
New Frontier Publishing, 2010. ISBN 978 1 921042096 The Sorcerer's Apprentice is a modern twist on a classic German
poem which inspired a piece of classical music also called The
Sorcerer's Apprentice. It is also reminiscent of Walt Disney's
Fantasia. It is set in a car and camel wash where we meet Rizwan, the
sorcerer's apprentice, who just wants to cast spells and be noticed by
girls. The Sorcerer's Apprentice is a great story to read aloud as it uses
rhyme to weave the spells as well as words like 'uppity', 'lurched' and
'mysterious' (words that may be tricky for young readers). Independent
and young readers will enjoy its colourful and detailed pictures,
showing the antics the young apprentice gets up to as he tries
different spells to impress a girl.
Of course, just like Fantasia, Rizwan gets into all sorts of bother as
he tries to act a little more grown up than he really is and chaos
occurs - brooms do as they please, the soap suds grow and grow.
Highly recommended for teachers to read to their class, it could be
compared to the original poem or Fantasia, and used as a lesson on rhyming
words and writing poems and spells. It could also be used to
introduce classical music as it comes with a CD that has a narration of
the story, background information on the composer, Paul Abraham Dukas,
and a copy of the original piece of music.
Parents will also enjoy reading this story to their children as they
giggle at the pictures together and cast their own magical spells.
Kylie Kempster
Emily's surprising voyage by Sue Purkiss
Walker Books, 2010. ISBN 9781496321821.
(Age 6-10) Recommended. Emily doesn't want to leave England, her home
and her beloved grandmother to sail across the world in the new
iron-hulled steam powered ship SS Great Britain. Her father
insists
however, as he wants to look at Australia for possibilities of
importing wool, or even having his own sheep farm, to supply the needs
of his mill. On board Emily meets Thomas Drew a passenger from
steerage, who has an intriguing pet, and unearths a ghostly secret in
the hold of the huge ship.
Sue Purkiss is a master at threading history with fiction, writing a
captivating story with engaging characters and an engrossing storyline.
The people in the story come alive with the black and white line
drawings by James La Rue, who captures perfectly their characteristics
and mannerisms as well as the difference on board for the first class
travellers and those in steerage. The hardships that poverty-stricken
people face in the workhouses in Great Britain at the time are also
touched on.
Historical information about Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the famous
engineer who designed the ship and the voyage that SS Great Britain
took can be found at the end of the story, which would be a perfect
companion for children looking at Victorian inventions.
On the CILIP Carnegie Medal longlist 2011, Emily's surprising voyage is
an entertaining and thoughtful historical story for newly independent
readers wanting a chapter book .
Pat Pledger
Plain truth by Jodi Picoult
Allen and Unwin, 2010. YA edition. ISBN 9781742375038.
(Age 14+) Plain truth is a good book, and I can definitely see
why it's an international bestseller.
It is a thrilling tale of how a defense attorney (Ellie Hathaway) turns
the life of her client (Katie Fisher) around after she is a suspect of
murder. According to medics a two-hour old baby boy found on the
Fisher's farm had been breathing and then been suffocated. The dead
child had been hidden in some horse blankets.
A spine-tingling mystery is unfolding and it's up to Ellie Hathaway to
save this poor Amish girl a life in jail but it's hard to prove
anything when Katie says she can't remember anything from that night.
The dialogue in this book is great and you can understand each
character easily. I loved this book. The age group for this book would
probably be for young adults to adults.
It's a good book that anyone over 14 would enjoy, but it's a better
book for mature readers.
I loved this book to the end.
Sarah Filkin, Yr 8
Keepinitreal by Don Henderson
Read by Craig Annis. First Published by Scholastic Australia
2009. Louis Braille Audio 2009. Unabridged. ISBN: 978 1 74212 292 2.
Playing time approximately 4 and three quarter hours.
Stevie doesn't feel too good about himself, he was abandoned in a
dumpster before being taken in by Aunt Peg and Uncle Boff and school
didn't suit him so he helps his Uncle Boff collect cans and bottles
around the streets of Victory Gardens, learning the value of recycling
and business truths like 'keep the overheads down'. He wears a beanie
all the time to conceal his egg shaped head and finds it hard to
respond when Helen, the girl at the recycling centre speaks to
him. Fearless Kid Kabula on the other hand flies through
life with confidence and optimism, executing amazing stunts on his
bike, always 'keepinitreal'. The unlikely pair become involved
with the campaign to save the local greyhound track from demolition and
investigate the local bikie gang who are possibly involved in greyhound
doping. Stevie is the Dale Kerrigan of Victory Gardens and his
first person narrative suits the audio format well. The story has many
parallels with The Castle; family values, social action, greyhounds and
the small world of the poorer side of town. The victory of the little
man here depends on a lottery win but the story is as universal as that
of Stevie's Heroes of Greek mythology, who overcome all odds to set
things right and return to their families. Craig Annis' reading is well
paced and excerpts of this would enhance any classroom study of the
book for middle school students and make a good discussion starter.
Sue Speck
Cloud tea monkeys by Mal Peet and Elspeth Graham
Ill. by Juan Wijngaard. Walker Books, 2010. ISBN 9781406300925.
Recommended. Tashi lives on a tea plantation and plays with the monkeys
who come out of the surrounding forests. She shares her food with them.
Her mother, who picks tea, becomes very ill and can no longer pick tea
to support herself and her daughter. Tashi tries to pick in her place
but the cruel overseer chases her away. After she tells the monkeys her
story they steal her basket and return with cloud tea.
Based on Himalayan folklore, this story tugs at the heartstrings.
Tashi's generosity with the monkeys is repaid in full when they help
her out by picking tea high up in the clouds. The plight of the tea
pickers when disaster looms and the overseer's cruelty in ignoring his
workers' needs is depicted in beautiful language. The magical
resolution will be reassuring to young readers.
Beautifully illustrated by Juan Wijngaard, each full-page picture
is luminous and filled with vivid detail that adds to the story and the
reader's understanding of the characters and events. Additional
evocative black and white illustrations are interspersed on the pages
of print. Cloud tea monkeys is a beautiful book that deserves a place on library
shelves.
Pat Pledger
Cherry Crush: the chocolate box girls by Cathy Cassidy
Puffin, 2010. ISBN: 978 0141335094.
(Age 10+) Recommended. Cherry's story telling abilities see her labeled
as a liar by her classmates and by her teachers as having an 'active
imagination'. Not having made real friends at her old school, Cherry is
delighted by the prospect of moving to Somerset to be part of a real
family with her dad's new girlfriend, Charlotte, and her four
daughters. Their plan is to continue running Charlotte's B&B whilst
her dad, who has given up working at McBean's Chocolate Factory, is
hoping to start his own chocolate business. Things never quite work out
perfectly, however, and although the three younger sisters, Coco and
twins Skye and Summer, are accepting of Cherry, Honey is less than
welcoming. To complicate matters even more, Honey's boyfriend Shay
Fletcher is somewhat too welcoming of Cherry for her liking.
Cathy Cassidy has the happy knack of providing her stories with all of
the essential elements for girls in primary school, friendship, family,
pets, boys and conflicting emotions as the protagonist settles into new
surroundings. The new ingredient in this story is chocolate! This
series will undoubtedly gather many new Cassidy fans as this first
title provides an entertaining and engrossing tale. Girls are also
likely to enjoy visiting her brightly coloured and well maintained
website in which she encourages her readers to read, write, daydream
and commit 'random acts of kindness'.
Jo Schenkel
Blackout by Robert Swindells
Corgi Books, 2011.
(Ages 9+) Recommended. Swindells is on top form with this fast
moving World War Two adventure of spies, robbery, enemy aircraft and
pesky kids who nearly perish in their attempts to solve a mystery.
There is more than a touch of the Enid Blyton's in Blackout and
this is
why it works so well. Robert Swindells knows exactly how to entice
young readers into the thrill of a gripping mystery with plenty of
action, larger than life villains and feisty, intrepid children in
mortal danger.
War has just been declared and the youngsters of the sleepy Welsh town
of Golfodd are on the lookout for spies. A couple of mysterious
visitors attract the children's attention but these villains are
robbers not spies, and they plan to steal the Golfodd Hoard - a
collection of ancient Roman coins that are the pride of the town.
As the story develops the children find themselves trapped in a mine,
alone and desperate as no one knows their plight. Meanwhile, a
German pilot crash lands nearby and hears their cries. Will he rescue
them and risk certain capture, or escape and leave them to their fate? Blackout offers plenty of learning opportunities for upper
juniors - it
works well as a showcase for plot construction of mystery and adventure
stories. One of the characters, a hack reporter, could be ably assisted
by pupils in writing up the story of the Golfodd Hoard. With an
introduction to the period of World War Two, this novel will also
generate plenty of interest and should attract reluctant readers too.
Well worth buying to support topic boxes and to promote an enjoyable
reading experience.
Claire Larson
